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1 Happily Ever After? a Critical Examination of the Gothic in Disney

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1 Happily Ever After? a Critical Examination of the Gothic in Disney Happily Ever After? A critical examination of the Gothic in Disney Fairy Tale films. Amanda M Rutherford A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Master of Communication Studies 2020 School of Communication Studies Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies 1 Abstract This thesis critically examines four Disney fairy tale films across the 20th and 21st centuries to assess the changes in the representation of Gothic tone and intent. I have taken a qualitative approach and deployed a close textual analysis of the films, finding that there are four main themes: magic and the supernatural; monsters and villains; body modification and identity; and the gendered, patriarchal systems. The films that comprise my sample are Sleeping Beauty (1959), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Maleficent (2014), and Beauty and the Beast (2017), and span a period of almost sixty years in Disney film-making history. Although there are four films in my sample, there are only two stories and these stories are established and well-known. The Disney versions are comparable to both the earliest forms and later literary forms of the fairy stories. Disney fairy films have entertained audiences for decades, and on the surface the stories appear to be innocuous entertainment, but something has changed. The later version of these films continue to appear benign, yet on close inspection, contain a substantial growth in the volume, tone and intent of the dark, horrific aspects of Gothic narrative. By considering the socio-political and cultural context of the times when these films were produced, I discuss the differences that can be found within the films: the messages that the films individually and collectively present; and how the Disney films have been utilised to promote the company’s conservative worldview. I have found there is a marked increase in the Gothic representation in three of the four themes I isolated. There are fewer differences in the treatment of gender and patriarchy than there are in the other themes. At times the films of the 21st century appear to be transgressive, but the rhetoric and tropes presented ultimately remain the same, with constant representation of patriarchal systems of power over women; the stereotypical heterosexual relationship between male and female dominating all other relationships; 2 where love conquers all (if you are white and heterosexual); and that good, (a nebulous ideal) will always prevail over evil. In concluding, the Gothic mode serves to assess the cultural anxieties and normative messages that the Disney fairy tale films contain, and show that the Disney films of the 21st century represent an ever-darkening, increasingly tangled world of Gothic horror and gender stereotypes. 3 Attestation of Authorship I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. Signed: Dated: 18 September 2020. 4 Acknowledgements This thesis proved to take considerably longer than originally anticipated, and at times I must confess, I feared that it would never eventuate. I am indebted to the people in my life who helped me through this time, especially Dr Frances Nelson, who was always available, never faulting in her support and encouragement, and graciously offered to take on this supervision. You helped me to stay focussed and managed to keep your sense of humour no matter how many times the ‘Gremlins’ wilfully crept in and added thousands of words into the chapters, gently (at times, not so) reminding me to reign things in. I would also like to say thank you to Associate Professor Vijay Devadas for giving me the initial opportunity to take on this challenge, your faith in me was truly inspiring and humbling, and to Dr Rosser Johnson, our Head of School, Communication Studies for his kindness and assistance given. The most thanks, however, must go to Dr Sarah Baker, who not only inspired me to study, but has kept me motivated and been there throughout the process. Thanks for the numerous discussions and debates, the understanding and support, but mostly for your time, and the many dinners! I also wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement from my mum. You are the most beautiful human I know, and I appreciate everything that you have done for all of us. Finally, I would like to thank my children Matthew, Bridget and Helen. What started off a few years back as a ‘couple’ of study papers, has ended with a passion to research and learn. You have all been so patient with me (most of the time) and I love you all dearly. I am truly blessed to have each one of you in my life. 5 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 2 Attestation of Authorship...................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 5 Table of contents .................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 - Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7 1.1 The development of my research concept ................................................................... 8 1.2 The structure of this thesis ........................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 - Background: The Political Economy of Disney ................................................ 14 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 The makings of Disney ................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 3 - Literature Review .............................................................................................. 26 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Fairy stories .................................................................................................................. 26 3.3 The Gothic .................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 4 – Methodology and Method .............................................................................. 48 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 48 4.2 Research question ...................................................................................................... 48 4.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 49 4.4 Method, text selection and research process ........................................................... 50 Chapter 5 – Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 54 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 54 5.2 Magic and supernatural .............................................................................................. 54 5.3 Monsters and villains .................................................................................................. 64 5.4 Body modification and hidden identities .................................................................... 71 5.5 Gender and the patriarchy .......................................................................................... 75 Chapter 6 - Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................... 85 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 85 6.2 The turn to the dark side ............................................................................................ 86 6.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 93 References ............................................................................................................................ 95 6 Chapter 1 Introduction The focus of this research is the fairy story, with specific attention to Disney’s early telling, and subsequent re-telling, of two well-known tales: Sleeping Beauty and The Beauty and the Beast. Fairy tales are an ancient folk form which began as oral stories and were eventually written down so that they could be read aloud as entertainment in the literary salons of the aristocracy (Zipes, 1989; Zipes, 2012). For instance, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, authors such as Giovanni Francesco Straparola, Giovan Battista Basile, Charles Perrault and Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy collected and narrated several of the tales still known today, and the practice of sourcing and re-telling folklore continued. Gabrielle-Suzanne
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